NG 579

New game 579 is now available.

The re-run is episode 307; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: I R E T D M A L U

I had TIRE, TIRED, MITRED, and MURIATE.  I recalled from past experience that MURIATED was not valid (and also that it is in the Scrabble list).

Seven is thus the best to be done; the others are TRAILED, MATURED, READMIT, DILUTER, MIAULED, and MALTIER*.

My selection: MURIATE


Round 2: T P T O A N T A E

We nearly had POTENTATE, but the vowels were not quite right.  As it was, I had ATOP, PANTO, NOTATE, and POTENT.

Six is the maximum here; the others are TEAPOT, PATENT / PATTEN ("any of various kinds of footwear [...] to protect the feet from mud or wet"), APNOEA, TAPETA (plural of TAPETUM: "any of certain membranous layers or the like, as in the choroid or retina"), and ANATTO (variant spelling of ANNATTO, a type of tree).

My selection: POTENT


Round 3: Target 162 from 1 1 2 9 6 3

I recognised the target as 2*81, and thus that it had many useful small factors.  I started with 162 = (6 + 3)*9*2 and then moved on to 162 = 3*6*9.

My selection: 162 = 3*6*9


Round 4: O F G K S L E O P

I had FOGS, FLOGS, FOLKS, POLES, wondered about GLOOPS (not valid), and was relieved to find the six of GOSPEL.

The other six is KLOOFS (KLOOF: "a deep narrow valley").  Some sources would allow the South African slang term OPGEFOK, but it's not in the Macquarie.

My selection: GOSPEL


Round 5: M A S I R D B E A

I was very much hoping for a final O to produce AMBEROIDS (AMBEROID: "synthetic amber [...]"); a shame that it did not arrive.  Instead, I had ARMS, MAIDS, BRIDES, BRAISED, ADMIRES, AMBRIES (plural of AMBRY: "a cupboard; dresser"), SIDEBAR, and MISREAD.

There are many sevens here, but the eights are BARMAIDS, MADEIRAS, and AMBARIES*. (The asterisk may not be necessary; the main entry is AMBARY without a plural form given, but AMBARI is listed as a variant spelling.  Appending of -S or -ES to make a plural form automatically is valid, and it might be ruled that AMBARI + ES was the designated plural.)

My selection: BRAISED
Best: BARMAIDS


Round 6: Target 652 from  75 6 7 4 7 1

The nearby multiples of 75 are 8*75 and 9*75.  An 8 was a bit easier to come by, and I recognised that the offset of 52 was 8*6 + 4.  (Only just now have I realised that 8*7 - 4 would also have been fine.)  That gave me the solution 652 = (7 + 1)*(75 + 6) + 4.

My selection: 652 = (7 + 1)*(75 + 6) + 4


Round 7: N I H R O I M E H

I had IRON, MINOR, and HEROIN.  Not a very helpful mix at all!

Indeed, six is the limit, with the others being HOMIER, MERINO, and MENHIR.

My selection: HEROIN


Round 8: Target 499 from 100 50 25 8 10 9

Clearly the idea is to make this as 500 - 1, with the 1 plausibly coming from either 9 - 8 or 10 - 9.  I found ways for each to work, with 499 = 10*50 - (9 - 8) and 499 = 8*50 + 100 - (10 - 9).

My selection: 499 = 10*50 - (9 - 8)


Round 9: URGENT SOY

I chose this conundrum after being presented with the nearby YOUNGNESS (which was not listed).

My selection: [N/A -- chosen]
Best: YOUNGSTER